Passenger Seat
by Axel-kun
Summary: School is out, which means Axel needs a babysitter for the summer for his daughter. Sora, his usual babysitter is busy with moving to college, but he offers up his younger brother, Roxas, to help out. AkuRoku. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I tend to name my stories after Death Cab For Cutie songs…

But yeah, here's like, my millionth unfinished story. Sorry. But I like the idea.

Sorry for my absence too…My dad found my yaoi stash xD He was…less than pleased. We had an interesting talk about it though.

Plus, school has gotten in the way of seriously writing. But it's almost over, so I'll begin to be active again.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed to my stories while I've been dead. It means a lot *gives pocky*

And so much has like...changed since i've been on fanfiction -_-" It just makes me feel worse...blahh...

Anyway, read and enjoy.

--

--

Passenger Seat

Axel rested his head in his hands as his wife continued whispering at him in an angered tone. If Kairi hadn't been in the other room, she would have been yelling as loud as she could at the redhead, who was sitting on the couch, unable to make eye contact with his soon to be ex-wife.

"I don't understand…" Axel muttered, finally looking up at her, his cheeks stained with his tears as she made the announcement. "Why…?"

"I can't stand living with you. It's like, I'm just the caretaker for our child. You're always late and you're never in the mood to talk or be close to me!" She hissed, her red hair covering most of her pretty face. Looking into her eyes reminded him of the first time he had laid eyes on her, way back in high school. He had always liked her, even while she had those disfiguring braces and glasses, before she had dolled herself up for the boys. He was still in love with her, and his head couldn't take it if she left him. The thought left him empty and cold.

"It's just been rough at work, love…" Axel told her, never breaking eye contact with those beautiful blue eyes. He reached up to take her hand in his. The apartment they lived in wasn't huge, which keep them at close proximity at all times. "I'll come home sooner, I promise…we can eat dinner together every night…"

"I don't want your promises," she spat, snatching her hand back from him. "I want you home at five, when you get off. I want you to come home and make dinner with me. I want you to spend time with your daughter instead of just handing her off on me every night while you go to bed early."

"I will…just, don't leave…" Axel pleaded, retracting his hand and setting it on his knee, defeated.

"I'm already packed. Goodbye, Axel."

--

"Yes, I need a babysitter."

"Well, I'll be busy this summer…"

Axel growled quietly, bringing the phone away from his mouth as he muttered, "Stop that," to his daughter, Kairi. She was currently having a tea party at the little table in her room. This is where Axel was sitting, still dressed in his suit since he just gotten off of work, surrounded by little stuffed animals. His eye twitched as Kairi poured even more water into his cup on the table, though he just told her not to.

"But maybe my brother can take over? He was looking for a summer job anyway."

Axel nodded, focusing more on making sure his suit didn't get wet from the 'tea' being spilled everywhere. "Sure, Sora. Anything, as long as he's good with kids."

"Yeah, he'll love to take care of Kairi for you."

He nodded, thankful he had found a nanny for over the summer on such short notice. For the past few summers it had been Sora that was nannying for him, caring for his four year old daughter, but Axel had forgotten that Sora went off to college this year, leaving him babysitter-less.

"Thanks. And just send him over at the usual time, thanks, Sora." Axel waited for Sora's reply before hanging up the phone and taking the teapot from Kairi. "Dear, you've made an awful mess."

"Hai!" Kairi told him, grinning from ear to ear as she got up from the table, running into the kitchen.

Axel sighed, taking his blackberry from his soaked pocket and placing it on the table, noticing the pink sticker was finally coming off of the screen. He had a feeling it was going to be a long summer.

--

A guttural moan escaped Axel's lips as he was forcefully poked in the leg with a blunt object. "Daddy!"

"Yes…?" He lifted his head, wiping the sleep from his glazed over eyes as he looked over to where Kairi was standing next to his bed, holding a fairy wand in her hand. She was wearing her favorite nightgown, one that slightly resembled a pink princess dress with white ruffles around the base that sparkled as she squirmed impatiently.

"Daddy…"

Axel looked over at the clock and noticed it was five to eight o' clock. Roxas would be here in five minutes. His damn alarm hadn't gone off again today!

He swooped up Kairi in his arms as he slipped from bed, taking her down the hallway and down the stairs, turning the corner to enter the kitchen. He sat her at her place at the table, letting her wiggle herself into her booster seat by herself. He glided over to the refridge and took out her unfinished glass of milk and a bowl of fruit and set it in front of her, rushing to answer the doorbell as it rang.

There was Roxas, Sora's younger brother, standing on his porch. Axel had always thought he was rather cute, though recently he'd started leaning to the indie look, wearing tighter jeans and dark band shirts. It was completely different from Sora, who wore the plaid shorts and brightly colored shirts. But Axel knew he was a good boy with good grades, so he wasn't too worried about letting Kairi stay alone with him.

"Roxas." Axel nodded, noticing that Roxas was a little freaked out that Axel answered the door wearing his pajamas; boxers and a t-shirt. "Come on in. Kairi just woke me up, so excuse my outfit."

Roxas nodded in reply as he followed his new employer into the house.

"This is the kitchen…" Axel led the blond into the kitchen where Kairi was eating her strawberries. "And you know Kairi…Kairi, this is Roxas."

The little girl grinned and mumbled something in her undecipherable language.

Axel just sighed. "Anyway, let me get dressed and everything and I'll give you the run down before I leave for work."

--

"_I roll the window down_

_And then begin to breathe in_

_The darkest country road_

_And the strong scent of evergreen_

_From the passenger seat as you are_

_Driving me home…"_

Axel turned up the volume for this song as the mellow sound of Death Cab for Cutie rolled through the speakers in his car. It helped him calm down before he would enter the hectic world of work. The company where he worked, Kingdom Hearts, was perhaps the most popular company in Twilight Town. They were the energy company, the people who made the electricity for the people, but they were also involved in charity work and they sponsored a lot of other stuff, like food fairs and outdoor markets in the summer. Axel, who was in charge of making all of this happen, though his title was 'The Advertisement Manager', was also in charge of babysitting the other managers in the company, which was not in his job description.

He pulled into his reserved parking place and right as he shut the door to his new black BMW, his assistant, Demyx, pounced him. "Axel, I neeeeeeeed you to tell me what's going on."

"What's going on?" Axel asked, looking at his blond assistant out of the corner of his eye as he walked into the building, flashing his ID at the guards inside the large entry hall.

The interior of the large, glass skyscraper known as Kingdom Hearts Headquarters, or KHH for short, was furnished in dark marble, flowing over the floor and all of the counters where the prissy little secretaries were stationed around the main floor.

"Yes…Xemnas just shot me an email asking what the plans for publicity were for the newest branch opening in Agraba on Friday…" Demyx was breathing heavily now as they reached the elevators, which would take them to the 8th floor where Axel's office was stationed.

"Xemnas told me Xigbar would be taking over that." Axel muttered, leaning against the marble stained wall as the elevator picked up speed upwards.

"Well, I guess not." Demyx huffed as he let his head hit the elevator wall with a small _thud._ "He's asking who all has been invited to the press conference and when you'll be there."

Axel sighed as the doors opened up to reveal his floor and the cubes of everyone that worked here with him. He stepped out into the naturally lit room with a shrug. "We'll have to figure that out now, I suppose."

--

Roxas eyed the little girl sitting at the table in front of him. Axel had given him directions as to what was for lunch and what he should be doing with her the rest of the day; he was always a little awkward around kids. He didn't have Sora's social grace, lacking the natural skill of communication with other human beings. However, children were especially difficult. Everyone his age and younger made him clam up, unable to express basic emotions. This earned him the social label 'loner' at school, though he was definitely able to hold conversations with adults and teenagers older than him.

Kairi tossed a piece of strawberry his way and he wondered how he was going to make it through the summer. The pay was excellent, which left him more money than most of the other teenagers his age, but he had to be around this four-year-old everyday. Not to mention Axel, whom he'd had a small crush on since the redhead had moved in down a few streets a couple of years ago. Axel was the vision of manliness. He held a good job, making more money than most people in Twilight Town, and he was taking care of his one daughter all alone. Roxas hadn't heard the story behind Axel's divorce, since he rarely talked about his ex-wife, but that didn't mean Roxas wasn't curious.

"Woxas…"

Roxas looked up at Kairi again, after giving the kitchen a good run down. This was the first time he'd been in the house after the open house when it was for sale, and Axel had changed it quite a bit. All of the kitchen appliances were stainless steal and the table they were sitting at was made of dark wood. Very expensive. Being here made Roxas feel a little…out of place in his skinny jeans and Pink Floyd t-shirt, which Axel had commented on before he left. Apparently the redhead liked good music too.

"Yes, Kairi?"

"Woxas, I's hungie."

Axel had told Roxas that if Kairi was still hungry after her fruit breakfast, Roxas could find her more food, along the lines of some cereal or something equally as messy. "What do you want to eat?"

"Eggs!"

At least Roxas knew how to make eggs, since he had just learned from Sora in the past month. Roxas pretty much failed at any kind of cooking, which was the complete opposite of his older brother who could cook nearly anything. It was frustrating for Roxas, since his brother could do almost anything, leaving Roxas feeling inadequate.

Roxas got out two eggs after hearing Kairi yell, "Scrambled!" He took out a frying pan after finding it and spraying it down with PAM. "What are we going to do today, Kairi?" Roxas asked as he watched the egg fizzle and begin to darken as he stirred it all together.

"Dolls!" came her first reply. After a moment of moping, on Roxas' part, she exclaimed, "And Princess Movie!"

Axel had also warned Roxas that Kairi might want to watch her favorite Princess movie, which Roxas was actually hoping Kairi would ask for. Watching a movie or sitting the kid down in front of the TV was the fastest way to waste time while babysitting. Getting paid for watching TV was perfectly alright for Roxas.

--

Axel opened the door to his house, sighing quietly as he shut it behind him. He set the black briefcase next to the table like he did every night and walked into his nearly silent house. "Roxas?" He called, slipping his shoes off onto the mat by the door.

"We're in the living room!" came the reply.

Axel made his way into the living room, trying not to grin as he looked over to where Kairi and Roxas were playing.

Newspapers were spread out on the floor, covering their work area. Roxas was on his elbows, his stomach pressed again the floor as Kairi applied lipstick to his pale lips. The younger boy's eye's had been shadowed in a lovely bright purple, his cheeks dusted in pink blush, no where close to matching the blue lipstick Kairi was applying.

"Is Roxas getting a makeover, Kai?" Axel asked, seating himself on the dark couch, grinning at the blond.

"Yes," Roxas replied, as Kairi was too busy concentrating to reply, "A makeover that has taken over an hour so far." He flared out his fingers, showing off the messy purple nail polish that covered most of his fingers.

Axel laughed, resting his head on the back of the couch, his arms draped over his thin frame. "Well, doesn't he look lovely."

Kairi smiled up at her father, finally putting the lipstick away. "Yeah, Daddy! Woxas is pitty!"

"Yes, very pretty indeed." Axel sat up to move closer to where his daughter was working, laying down on the floor next to Roxas. He sighed, happy to finally be home, away from the work world. Ever since his divorce, he was sure to get back home by five at the latest.

"How was your day?" Roxas asked, trying not to move out of fear that Kairi might get angry at him for messing up his makeup as she was collecting the barrettes to put in his spiky blond hair.

"It was…alright." Axel placed his head in his hands, held up by his elbows which were seated on the floor comfortably. "Stressful, since I was assigned a project I didn't think I would have to deal with…" He rubbed his temples as the snapping of barrettes filled the air.

"That sucks." Roxas replied, trying to keep still as Kairi played with his blond mess. "Like, just out of no where?"

Axel laid over on his side, nodding. "Yeah, kind of. I was assigned to construct a press conference for the opening of the new KHH in Agraba, but my boss took me _off _of that, and gave it to a co-worker. My assistant nearly attacks me this morning when I drive up for work because he got an email from the boss asking what our plans were."

"Ahh…" Roxas frowned thoughtfully as a purple barrette was snapped into his bangs. "Your boss is a douche."

Axel chuckled and opened his eyes. "Yeah, well. I have to deal with it. It's my job. But anyway, why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll drive you home before I make dinner."

"I'll help you." Roxas felt bad, leaving Axel all alone with Kairi the rest of the night when he was so obviously stressed. "I'll watch Kairi if you want to work a little more…it's sounds like you have a deadline to meet…"

Axel stood up and brushed off the invisible dust from his black suit, shaking his head. "I won't make that mistake again…" He got quiet for a moment, before moving on at Roxas' confused expression. "Thank you though, Roxas. I think I can manage tonight."

Roxas stood up, following Axel as he scooped up Kairi and started towards the car he had parked in the garage. Roxas wanted to decline a ride from Axel, since it was only about 5:24, and it was still pretty light out. Walking home would be no big deal, but he felt like Axel didn't really have anyone else to talk to. Roxas knew that he needed someone to listen to how his day was at work and things like that, or someone besides Kairi who could lend a sympathetic ear.

Axel buckled Kairi into her booster seat and let Roxas into the passenger seat. He sat down in the drivers seat and turned on the car, letting Death Cab fill the air once more.

"_If Heaven and Hell decide-"_

Axel reached over to skip to the next song, silently wishing he hadn't had this CD in the car with him. They had played this song at the wedding and it was difficult for him to listen to, even four years after the divorce.

He noticed Roxas looked over at him as the new song came on, trying to push the dark memories from Axel's mind.

"_The looking upwards_

_I strain my eyes and try _

_To tell the distance between shooting_

_Stars and satellites_

_From the Passenger sear as you are_

_Driving me home_…"

It was quiet for a moment, even with Kairi in the back, until Roxas nearly whispered, "I like this band."

Axel, thankful that the subject had been changed without a question, broke his gaze for a moment to look at Roxas with a grin. "Yeah? Death Cab is pretty soothing. It's nice to listen to after work."

Roxas chuckled, nodding. "What's the name of the CD? I'll go buy it if Mom will quick take me to the store."

"Nah, that's alright." Axel told him as they pulled up to Roxas' house. "Take this CD." He ejected it from the player and handed it to the blond nanny. "You can copy it and give it back to me tomorrow, eh?"

Roxas nodded back enthusiastically as he took the CD. "Of course! Thank you, Mr. Hatikaji."

"You can call me, Axel." The older man pointed to his temples with a grin as Roxas shut the door with a final nod.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Axel."

The redhead put the car in reverse as Roxas ran up his front walk. Today had been good, with the little help of a certain blond boy, Axel thought with a small smile.

--

Roxas ran upstairs and put the CD into his computer, letting it load before he synced it into his iPod. He pulled the little device from the computer and popped in his headphones, jumping onto his bed, though it wasn't even six o' clock yet. He let the songs fill his mind, the blue eyes closing as his body relaxed into his dark blue comforter, completely forgetting about the makeup that donned his face.

"_I roll the window down_

_And then begin to breathe in_

_The darkest country road_

_And the strong scent of evergreen_

_From the passenger seat as you are_

_Driving me home…"_

--

Axel placed the plate of Mac and Cheese on the table in front of his little girl. Kairi happily scooped a pile into her mouth, oohing and ahhing over the taste. Easy Mac was her favorite.

Axel sat down across from her, again, skipping dinner all together. He placed his elbows on the table as he rested his head in his hand, his thoughts skipping to his wife again. Every time he looked at Kairi, he was reminded of her; she looked just like her mother, it was astounding. Those blue eyes and the red hair, but also the nose and the curve of her soft pink lips. It was difficult being so close to her without breaking down into an emotional wreck every time he was alone with her, but Axel loved his little girl more than anything. He couldn't give her up, even if he nearly started crying every time he looked at those beautiful blue eyes.

He hadn't heard from her in years. They kept in contact for a bit after the messy divorce, just for Kairi, but after a while she stopped calling and emailing back. Axel assumed she had remarried and didn't want any part in Kairi's life now that she had a new one.

The redhead sighed. "Well, it's probably bath time for you, Kai."

Instantly, it ruined her mood. "Daddy…"

"Come on, love. We don't want Roxas to think you're smelly." He stood and walked over to her seat, picking her up with a little difficulty now that she wasn't half as small as she used to be. "We'll make it fast and we can watch a princess movie before your bedtime."

She giggled, placing her head on her father's shoulder. "Okay, Daddy."

--

--

Hatikaji- Hati meaning eight and kaji meaning fire (or destructive force). Poor Axel. Even his name is morose.

And no, it's not going to be a KairiXAxel fic. That would be so nasty. In so many ways.

Anyway, schools almost over and I'll start being active again :( sorry about the delay.

Review?


	2. Chapter 2

"_Love of mine,_

_Someday you will die_

_But I'll be close behind_

_I'll follow you into the dark."_

Roxas danced, bobbing his head up and down as he walked down the front steps. This was his favorite song EVER. He couldn't remember a Pink Floyd song that got him this pumped since his mother had introduced him to 'Time'.

All night he had been looking up the lyrics and putting them onto his new iPod, grinning as he began his walk down to his employer's house. He was so excited to give the CD back to Axel and actually have something other than his daughter to converse about. Roxas had been trying to think of something that could get him to stay longer at Axel's house, something to keep him lingering until the last possible minute in which Axel would drive him home. Roxas could probably make a mess and stay until he had cleaned up every little spot, or maybe Kairi could beg him to stay…

He decided the latter wouldn't work since Kairi didn't seem all that fond of him, but maybe he could use it as an excuse to spend the night, eventually. That would be outrageously fun. Maybe he could even have the chance to fall asleep on Axel's shoulder if they stayed up late…

The blonde felt like a school girl, giddy with excitement over the prospect of actually having a conversation with his crush. He felt like it was wrong to like Axel, at least on the surface. His parent's had always been anti-gay and bisexual, but he had had these feelings for a while. But other than the weird, super sexual dreams he'd had during the beginning of his puberty, he didn't think about guys in _that way._ Sure, he had stray thoughts here and there, but he crushed on guys for their personality, not the thought of sex. The same had been with Axel. He only liked the thought of getting to live with Axel, getting to be there and share time with him, though the thought of shower sex with the older man certainly didn't ruin his dreams.

This made a light blush sneak onto the blonde's face as he knocked on Axel's door, willing himself to ignore his semi-erect problem in his skinny jeans.

The door opened and he was greeted by a smiling Axel, motioning him in as he pointedly wiggled the phone in his hand, mouthing 'I'll be one second' to Roxas.

The boy went in, being as quiet as he could be as he slipped his shoes off at the door, going to sit down across from Kairi like he had the last day. He was a little frustrated that Axel was on the phone, but he didn't make it known as he waved at Kairi who was shoving spoonfuls of yogurt into her mouth.

"No, mom, I don't need help. I have a babysitter for the summer…" Axel muttered, sitting down next to Kairi, across the table from Roxas.

Kairi chanted, "Nana, nana, nana!" in her singsong voice as yogurt spewed from her lips. The blonde got to paper towel to clean it up, all the while listening intently to what Axel had to say.

"No, mom…I'm sure. Thank you though. You know I don't need cash…" The redhead put his head in one hand as he sighed. "Mom, just stop it. It's sweet of you to worry, but I'm fine. I've been eating plenty…If you really want to, you can take Kairi for a couple of days, but I can handle it. I've been fine for these four years, I think I'll be fine until she takes an interest in boys."

Roxas chuckled which earned a glance from Axel, followed by a quick wink.

Suddenly, Axel's tone took on a morose, crepuscular sound as he sighed again. "It's hard…even now…it's still difficult when I look at her and I've heard it doesn't get any easier but I can handle it…but I have to go. I love you. Bye."

He hung up the phone and looked down at his feet before he seemed to regain his usual Axel-self. He stood up and placed his hands on his thin hips, thinking a moment before speaking to Roxas. "Well, I'm afraid today will be a lot like yesterday. Just as boring and all…I might be home a little earlier because there is a lot to do around the house…"

Roxas nodded, blushing as he softly replied, "If you need any help, I would be more than happy to help out…"

"That's really sweet, but I think I can-"

Axel was interrupted as his cell phone went off. "For the love of…" He hit a button on his blackberry and walked from the room with a growl.

Roxas looked back at Kairi, his eyes growing large. He didn't think that Axel could muster a tone like that, but apparently he was wrong. Dead wrong.

Kairi looked at him for a moment, but she went back to singing quietly and eating her yogurt. It was quiet until Axel came back into the room. "Your mom wouldn't mind if I kept you here like…thirty minutes later?"

Roxas shook his head, grinning. "Of course not. I'll stay as late as you need me to!"

The redhead nodded as he eyed something on the floor with a little displeased glare. Roxas wondered if Axel had heard him, but the redhead snapped out of the trance, walking towards the door to grab his things. "I need to get going, but I'll be home about the same time, it sounds like. They can't get anything done without me. I won't need you for much longer than thirty minutes." He shut the door with a quick smile at Kairi.

--

Roxas went over to the directions that Axel had failed to mention that he had left on the counter as Kairi finished up her breakfast. "Looks like you get a sandwich for lunch today, Kairi."

She made a little giggly happy noise as the last of the yogurt was poured out on the floor. "Woxas…"

The blonde sighed, grabbing a cloth, knowing that if he kept using paper towels the Amazon would be reduced to a couple of twigs by the end of the summer. "Kairi, you make more messes than anything I've seen before." It was true. The next door neighbors dogs weren't even this messy. But oh well. He was getting paid to be in Axel's house.

As Roxas was cleaning up around Kairi's chair as he spied a radio with an MP3 input. A smile crossed his face as he went over to it, just dumping the yogurt drenched paper towel on the counter. He slipped the ipod from his pants and plugged it in, putting Death Cab for Cutie on shuffle.

"Deaff Cab!" Kairi yelled, smiling at Roxas. She really was adorable and Roxas had to wonder what Axel meant it was hard to look at her. Why was Axel so sad over the phone to his mother?

His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. Kairi continued to mumble along with the song playing while Roxas jogged towards the door, his skinny jeans pulling desperately at his legs. He managed to pry the large white door open and was met with a beautiful woman standing on the front steps. She had on a tight fitting knee-high skirt and a women's business jacket. Her short black hair framed her face quite wonderfully, and her large brown eyes looked at him with confusion. Roxas opened the door, leaning against the frame of the door as Death Cab floated through the air. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah," she said, her weight shifting to her left hip. "Is Mr. Hatikaji around?"

Kairi managed to escape from her chair as she heard someone at the door. She ran at full force towards Roxas' legs and gave the newcomers a huge smile. "Yuffiee!"

The brown haired woman smiled down at the little girl. "Hey, Kai! Where's your dad?"

"Wok." She replied simply. Her arms wrapped around Roxas' leg and looked up to the blonde babysitter. "When daddy be home?"

Roxas regarded the woman again before frowning thoughfully. "I'm sorry, who are you?" Roxas thought for a moment that this might be Axel's wife from Kairi's excited grin, but she didn't look anything like Kairi.

"Oh, sorry." A perfectly macicured hand went to run through her short hair. "I'm Yuffie Kasigari. I work with Axel. I thought I might have been able to catch him before he left, but I guess I'm too late."

"Yeah," he nodded, placing a hand on Kairi's head. "He left just a bit ago."

"Alright, sorry about the intrusion." Yuffie looked away from Roxas' bright blue eyes to smile at Kairi again. "I'll tell your dad hi for you when I see him in a bit." Her eyes sparkled in honesty, which made Roxas think she wasn't all that bad. Maybe she was Axel's girlfriend…

The thought made him shudder. She was definitely pretty enough. She was sexy in even her work outfit, so he didn't dare imagine her in anything else. Her large eyes made her face cute instead of the squinty-eyed girls in the magazines their mother bought sometimes for makeup tips, but her body was excellent. This Yuffie girl would be good for Axel, especially since it seemed like Kairi liked her.

Kairi gave the woman another grin before running off into the playroom and as Kairi left, Yuffie gave a little wave at Roxas before heading off for her black, sleek car.

--

"So, Axel."

Axel looked up from his computer to find his coworker standing over his desk with a smirk on her face. "Yes, Yuffie?" he asked, looking at her over his glasses before tilting his head to continue working on his email.

"How old is your babysitter?"

The question surprised Axel and he looked up again, letting his black rimmed glasses fall even farther down his thin nose. "My babysitter? You mean Roxas?"

"Mhm." She purred, grinning as she sat down in the chair on the other side of his desk. "How old is he?"

"Sixteen." Axel went back to reading another line on his email before raising an arched eyebrow. "Why, Yuffie?" How would she know about Roxas anyway?

"I stopped by your house to see if I could catch you before you came to work." She replied, looking at her pretty, red fingernails. "And an a_dorable_ boy came and answered the door! He's too young to date though." Yuffie pouted, sighing softly. "How'd you find him?"

The redhead rolled his eyes. She was acting as if he had picked Roxas from a group of people, selecting him for cuteness. Like a dog. "I usually had his brother babysit over the summer, but he's off to college this year." Axel paused to consider the rest of Yuffie's statement. Roxas was indeed very cute. His bright blue eyes were always so attentive, looking to please as the tired desk-worker came home, or at least he was last night. It was very sweet he was trying to be a good boy.

"Sora said that Roxas was looking for a job so I hired him." The green-eyed man finished, pushing the thin glasses back into his nose to continue reading.

"Well, he seemed very sweet." Yuffie said softly, her eyes becoming glazed over as she thought back.

Axel smirked. He was, but that wasn't going to get in the way of their 'boss/worker' relationship.

--

Kairi snuggled her head into Roxas' shoulder; she'd had it there for a while now, but now Roxas could hear a soft snore coming from the little girl's throat. She'd exhausted herself from running around and playing tea party for three hours after her lunch break. Axel was due home any minute now and Roxas couldn't wait to show him how Kairi had passed out. He wondered if Axel would wake her as he came home. In an effort to stop the chance, Roxas flipped open his phone and texted the number that Axel had said to call if anything went wrong. He assumed that this was the redhead's cell phone number.

'_Hey, Kairi is asleep so be sure to stay quiet when you get home. – Roxas'_

Roxas added his name just in case Axel hadn't added him to his contacts list yet. How creepy for someone to text that when he didn't know who it was. The blonde put his cell down on the couch as he reached for the remote, eager to find something to do for the next few minutes until Axel got home.

He jumped slightly when his phone vibrated to alert him of a new text. Roxas certainly hadn't expected a reply from the redhead.

'_Aw, how cute. Kept her busy today then?'_

The fact that Axel typed out his words completely instead of chtspk made Roxas grin. Of course, Axel had that expensive blackberry, why would he type in chtspk?

'_Definitely. We played tea party for over two hours. Lol.'_

As he sent it, Roxas realized that Axel might not understand what lol was. He quickly sent another text to explain it meant 'laugh out loud'.

His phone vibrated after another moment.

'_Roxas, I know what lol means. I'm not as old as you think :P but I'm glad she's being kept busy. Makes it easier for her to sleep at night.'_

The smiley made Roxas chuckle and Kairi stirred next to him. He forced himself to stay quiet as he heard the front door unlock quietly with soft footsteps following that. Before he could gently move Kairi, Axel appeared in the room with a smile. "She really is passed out, isn't she?"

Roxas nodded, glad to see Axel was home. "Yep. Tea party really takes it out of her."

Axel helped lift the little girl off of Roxas gently, so that the blonde boy could stand. "Welcome home!" Roxas whispered, leaning in so that his chin was barely an inch from Axel's shoulder. "Did Yuffie say hi from us?"

Axel nodded with a chuckle, laying Kairi on the couch as he motioned Roxas into the kitchen. Yuffie had said hello…sort of. "Yes, she did. She wanted to know how I had managed to get such a cute babysitter."

Roxas blushed a dark red as he heard Axel refer to him as 'cute', even if those weren't his words exactly, he had said them. "Cute babysitter?"

"Mhm. Apparently, she quite frankly wishes you were older." Axel chuckled softly as he set his phone on the dining room table, emptying his suit's pockets before taking the lunch dishes and inserting them into the dishwasher. "For dating purposes and such." The redhead turned back to see his nanny's reaction.

Roxas looked down at the ground. As much as he wanted to continue this conversation, he wanted to ask Axel if he thought he was cute too, but he couldn't risk moving that fast. He hadn't even decided if he wanted to attempt 'seduction'. He didn't need to get himself fired before anything else. So he quickly took the dish from Axel's hand and apologized softly, thankful for the change of topic. "I'm sorry, I'll clean up that mess for you."

"It's true though. I happened to snag a cute one." Axel winked as Roxas looked up before relenting and allowing the topic to be changed. He didn't want to come off as a pedo, for obvious reasons. "It's not a big deal, I promise. I just have to put them in the dishwasher. But anyway, did you listen to that CD?"

Roxas' eyes got wide as he remembered the CD and he rushed to the other side of the room to grab the little plastic case. He handed it to the redhead. "It was really, really good! I had to put it on my iPod right away. I got all of the lyrics from the internet and its pretty much been playing nonstop since last night!"

The redhead chuckled, putting the CD back on the counter as he sat down at his dinner table, watching Roxas sit across from him. "Which song is your favorite?"

"Definitely 'I will Follow You Into The Dark," he replied, putting his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands to look at Axel. "It's just…so beautiful. The melody is just amazing."

Axel looked down at the table, sighing softly. The blonde wondered what he had done to ruin the conversation so suddenly. If Axel simply didn't like the song, he could have just said so. The look on his face conveyed that there was a deeper meaning to the song – that it wasn't just that Axel didn't like the song. It obviously brought up back memories. "It is a pretty song."

"What's wrong, Mr. Hatikaji?"

"That song was my song to my wife at our wedding."

The statement blew Roxas away. Of course he wouldn't like it then, it brought back memories of his ex-wife – the woman that left him. Roxas looked down at his lap, his chest suddenly feeling unbearably heavy. He cursed himself for doing that to Axel. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not a big deal." The single father rose from the chair and turned toward the living room. He emerged with his daughter in his arms, still snoozing lightly, as he motioned toward the door. "We'd better get you home."

--

Roxas let his wet hair plaster itself to his face, the tips tickling his nose in an unpleasant way. But he made no move to brush it away, instead, he let his naked body slowly cover itself with goosebumps as he lay out on his bed. His mind couldn't tear itself away from the look on Axel's face when he mentioned the song.

He turned over onto his side, pulling the covers over his cold body, hoping that sleep would come to him soon.

--

--

Whoo! Chapter 2 is finished! I know it's short. My apologies, but it was a good place to end, methinks.

Thank you sooo much to everyone that has reviewed. It means a LOT, trust me. Gives me some muse whilst I have none!

This chapter did turn out to be a little dark, but it'll brighten up and we'll get to the mansex soon, hopefully :\


	3. Chapter 3

Roxas' alarm went off, making him jump slightly. He desperately tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes as he stood on wobbly legs and made a mad dash for the bathroom, trying to get there before his knees gave out. Thankfully, he made it. After relieving his bladder, he dressed in a simple pair of skinny jeans and shirt his brother had gotten him with another language written across the front. Roxas didn't know what it said or what language it was, but it made for a fun time when people asked about it, because that resulted in him bull shitting information.

He spun around the corner, grabbing his ipod from the desk and checked the time. Ten minutes exactly until he had to be to Axel's house. The name alone made his heart thump in his chest. The blonde ran to his mother's bathroom to brush his teeth and eyed her makeup as he squirted toothpaste onto the brissles. She had more makeup than most people had their whole lives. It was amazing really. Girls went through such weird periods in their lives with their makeup. Well, at least his mother did. But maybe she was just weirder than most.

He did notice some eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick in the garbage, stuff she had showed him just last week. Roxas reached into the small silver trash can and picked up the lipstick, popping off the cap. It was the brightest shade of pink he had ever seen and looked like it had been used just once. A grin spread across his face as he touched the pink stick to his lower lip, the grin multiplying as the color stuck. Swiftly, he grabbed the rest of the cases and ran out the door.

xx

Axel was sitting at the dining table with Kairi, trying to feed her her breakfast when the door rang. He stood and straightened his suit jacket as he went to the door. "Roxas." He smiled in a greeting, but his smile quickly changed into a confused expression, complete with a long, thin, arching eyebrow. "Uh."

Roxas grinned, completely ignorant of the fact he still had pink smeared on his lip. "Axel, you'll never guess what I brought for Kairi." He grinned triumphantly back at the redhead whose expression turned to more of a silly grin.

"Makeup?" Axel asked with a chuckle. "At least, I hope you did."

"What? How could you tell?"

Axel raised a slim finger to Roxas' lips and lightly touched the corner of the boy's mouth. "Ya got somethin' right here, dear." He winked as Roxas quickly wiped off the remaining lipstick.

The redhead could tell that the boy was mortified, so he decided to drop the subject, though reminding himself to bring it up later. "But anyway, thank you. God knows that I despise buying makeup for Kairi." Roxas got another wink as he led him to the kitchen.

Roxas blushed a dark red as he placed the makeup on Kairi's table. "Here ya go, Kai. Some makeup my mom was gonna toss out without using. I thought you might like some new colors."

Kairi cooed her happiness as she picked up the cases and started bashing them against the surface of the dark wood. Axel quickly intervened and placed the makeup back on the marble counter. "Well, she says thank you. But I was going to ask you something before I left…what was it, what was it…? Well of course, now that I have you here to myself I completely forget. It was important, too. Oh well. I'll just call you later."

That sounded very promising to Roxas, who readily agreed before Axel kissed his daughter goodbye and left.

xx

"What the fu-"

"Axel. Watch your language."

The redhead looked up and saw Yuffie standing…well, more like sitting on his desk. "Why do they even give you an office if you're just going to stay in mine?"

"I'm not here all that much, Axel. Stop being so bitter." She stuck her tongue out at her boss and Axel distantly wondered how old they were.

"Anyway. I really came here to ask when you were planning on being in Agraba tomorrow, because I would like you to proof read some of the slides I have…"

"FUCK." Axel's head instantly fell into his hands. "Agraba. Fuck." He started shuffling through papers on his desk, searching for his blackberry. He ignored Yuffie's questioning look as he dialed his mother's number and hit the green key.

"MOM. I need a favor. I'm going out of town tomorrow and I really need you to watch Kairi." Yuffie grinned as she understood. Axel completely forgot that he had to be in Agraba tomorrow. Poor sucker.

"What do you mean you can't? Mom, this is really important." Axel threw himself against the back of his leather rolly chair and sighed dramatically. "Fine, all right, I'll figure something out. Love you too. Bye.

"FUCK, Yuffie, she can't take Kairi." Axel then slumped against his desk, mussing a few stacks of paper in the process. "What am I going to do?"

"Bring her. Like, that's not so hard." Yuffie smirked and eyed her nails nonchalantly.

"And what do I do with her while I'm busy? Like, the whole day?" Axel glared at her, annoyed that she'd even say something so stupid. It wasn't possible.

"Well, then you bring Roxas too, dummy."

Axel's green eyes grew really wide. It made sense. How easy that would be! He could just get another room close to his, where Roxas could stay during the weekend while he was overseeing all of the events for KHH. That was perfect. "Yuffie, you're a genius. I could kiss you, if I didn't have to get up."

"Love you too, Axel!" She waved as she left.

xx

Roxas watched the mac and cheese cool on the stove, his eye glazing over from how boring it was. He wondered in the back of his mind whether or not there would be any extra left for him, as his stomach was starting to talk back to him. The blonde's tongue played across his teeth as he glanced to Kairi who was dramatically slumped over her table, muttering to Roxas something along the lines of 'I'll starve if I don't get food NOW'.

The blonde hopped off the the counter and headed for the freezer, scavenging for his own food. There was nothing. Aside from a frozen turkey (free range, mind you) and vegetables. Then he spotted some frozen vegetable egg rolls. Perfect.

He grabbed the box and started reading the directions. Wrap one in a paper towel. Cook in microwave for one minute, thirty seconds. Easy enough. Roxas got out the remaining two (they looked pretty old, so he didn't think that Axel would mind if he ate them) and wrapped them both in a paper towel. He put one in the microwave, set the time, and hopped back up to his sitting position on the counter.

His phone rang.

"'Ello?" Roxas said as he started scooping Kairi's easy mac into a bowl.

"ROXAS." Roxas barely finished his hello before Axel started in.

"Uh…Axel?"

"ROXAS, OH MY GOD I NEED A FAVOR."

The blonde placed Kairi's easy mac in front of her and went back to the counter. "Yeah? Like what?"

"I'm going out of town tomorrow and I can't find anyone to babysit Kairi. I totally understand that it's short notice, but I really need you to come with me."

There was a silence. Roxas took in the information. Axel. Asked. Him. To. Come. With.

"Roxas?"

"Oh…sorry. I was just thinking." Dirty things. "Like, when would we leave and when would we be back?"

"Well, I was thinking that you would come over tomorrow with your bags, the usual time and I would go to work, finish packing my things and be back by lunch. We would leave and the likes and then be back early on Sunday. How's that sound?"

"That sounds good, but I have to ask my mom." Roxas felt so stupid, but he had to.

"Not a problem. Just please tell me as soon as you know, because if you can't, I need to find someone else."

"Okay. I'll text you. Bye." Roxas hurriedly hung up the phone and instantly called his mom.

"No."

"Mom! What the heck? I didn't even get to say hi."

His mother chuckled. "I know. I just knew you wanted something."

Times like this, made him really dislike his mother. Not hate, no. But great dislike. "Mom, Axel is going out of town tomorrow and needs me to go with so I can watch Kairi while he does stuff. Or something." Roxas hoped she wouldn't comment on how that was a very badly put together sentence, because…he knew. His mind was fried from the fact that Axel wanted him to go.

"When will you be home?" She asked, hesitantly.

Roxas didn't like her tone. He had to make her say yes. "Really early on Sunday." _Please say yes, please say yes!_

"Yeah, I suppose that's okay."

"THANKS MOM!" He hung up and instantly texted Axel.

_I CAN GO._


End file.
